Disposable surgical drapes are commonly used in the operating room to protect the patient from possible bacterial contamination from the environment of the operating room and the surgical staff. With the widespread use of disposable surgical drapes, drapes have been designed for particular surgical procedures, thereby, allowing better draping techniques and ease in maintaining proper sterile procedures in the operating room. A large number of such drapes contain precut openings or fenestrations in the drape, which are placed over the site of the surgical procedures. The use of preformed or precut fenestrations allows improved draping techniques.
With the use of fenestrated drapes, it is often necessary to cover the fenestration in the packaged drape with a removable, protective cover to prevent possible contamination of the drape during the placement of the drape on the patient. The proper aseptic technique in the operating room would indicate that if the upper surface of the drape is contacted while the drape is being placed on the patient, the drape would be considered to be contaminated. In order to prevent this, a protective paper covering is placed on the upper surface of the drape over the fenestration. The use of the paper covering prevents the inadvertent contact of the upper surface of the drape during the draping procedure. The drape is placed on the patient, and, after the drape is in position, the covering is removed.
The present invention, more particularly, relates to a bilateral fenestrated drape in which there are two fenestrations spaced apart along a central axis of the drape. Drapes of this type are used in surgery on the extremities. There are two fenestrations in the drape, and there is an insert of an elastic material securely fitted in each fenestration. The elastic material also has a fenestration which is usually a circular opening but may be other shapes. When the partially opened drape is placed on the patient, the extremities are passed through the fenestrations in the elastic material to isolate that portion of the limb or limbs that will be the operative site of the surgery from the remainder of the patient's body. The elastomeric insert in the fenestration is capable of stretching to tightly conform to the limb. Drapes of this type usually require two removable inserts over the fenestrations to protect the upper surface of the drape from possible contamination through the fenestrations.